It’s not everyone’s idea of a daily driver or a long weekend cruiser, but due to circumstance, that’s how I ended up behind the wheel of the new Iveco Daily 45C17 flat deck pictured here.
Utilising the Daily as part of our DIESELTalk stand at the January Grasslandz ‘agriculture in action’ show, near Hamilton, not only gave us the perfect vehicle to cart people and equipment to the event, it also provided an air-conditioned mobile office when the summer heat became unbearable.
The 45C17 on test arrived with the optional 8-speed Hi-Matic automatic transmission ($3500) and an ISRI suspension seat (with heating function) for the driver ($416). It also wore a shiny new front nudge bar and rain shields on both windows.
The Daily also has a comprehensive list of standard features such as voice controlled telephony, as well as Bluetooth, satellite navigation, climate controlled air conditioning, and cruise control.
Iveco, calls its infotainment system IVECONNECT and allows the driver to manage the infotainment, telephone and navigational system by using the 7-inch touchscreen on the dashboard.
The system has a CD/MP3 player, two iPod compatible USB inputs, Bluetooth interface, SD card reader, and navigational maps specific to commercial vehicles. The unit also features four speakers and an integrated 4×20 Watt amplifier, and there are also radio and phone controls on the steering wheel.
My only gripe about this system was the strident female vocal tone emanating from the navigation system, (nicknamed Bossy Betty by the other half) which announced the current speed limit should you accidentally exceed it.
Having such a warning device is a great feature, but Betty’s strident tone could be a bit disconcerting at times, particularly when she interrupts the radio broadcast to which you are listening.
The Daily equipment arsenal includes front and rear disc brakes with ABS and EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution), as well as active stability control, and a ‘Hill Holder’ along with driver passenger and curtain airbags.
I’m not normally a huge fan of cruise control in commercial vehicles, but the system in the Daily is very intuitive and responsive – it held the set speed exactly on both ascending and descending gradients, including the notorious Bombay Hill.
Other options that you can fit on to the Daily cab/chassis, at additional cost, include lane departure warning, 210A alternator, alloy wheels, a 100-litre fuel tank, and a diff lock.
The new Daily has been designed to be both a tough and durable workhorse as well as a comfortable long distance companion, and this quickly became apparent during our trial period.
It also has an amazingly good turning circle, and despite its sizeable footprint, we had no issues parking the Daily in the Auckland central business district, even managing to squeeze it into the car park at the rear of our office building, much to the astonishment of onlookers.
Inside the cabin there is a myriad of storage compartments and cubbies, you can also store large bags under the twin passenger seat, which not only keeps them secure but also out of sight!
For a large vehicle, it is surprisingly quiet when travelling at the legal limit on the motorway, being partially attributed to the cab’s lower coefficient of drag figure, of 0.316.
The 3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine as tested here is turbocharged by a variable geometry system and intercooler to produce a power figure of 125 kilowatts at 2900-3500 rpm and a torque figure of 430Nm between 1500-2600 rpm.
Also available as an extra cost option is a twin turbo version of the 3-litre unit which offers increased power of 150kW @ between 3100-3500 rpm and torque output of 470Nm @ 1400-3000 rpm.
Iveco says the new Daily boasts a reduction in fuel consumption of 4.1% compared to the previous models.
Lower fuel consumption is the result of a combination of features. The engines themselves now use low friction piston rings, and higher grade oils.
Installing a ‘smart’ alternator also contributes to lower consumption – this device mainly comes to the fore when releasing the accelerator to recovery kinetic energy.
We averaged between 10L/100km and 13L/100km in a mixture of open road and urban running, and the vehicle was brand new with only 300km on the odometer when we collected it for our review.
In summary, spending a few days with the Daily flat deck allowed us a greater familiarisation of the vehicle, and we found that it ticks all the boxes as a modern and comfortable workhorse, which offers a European alternative to the more popular Japanese trucks in this category.
We feel that more fleet operators should consider the Daily when shopping around for such a vehicle in future.
The 2016 Iveco Daily line-up
The ‘light’ Daily vans and cab/chassis (3500kg GVM) come with the 93kW (126 hp) 2.3-litre inline four-cylinder turbodiesel engine as standard but there is an option to upgrade to the 125kW (170 hp) or 150kW (205 hp) 3-litre inline four-cylinder engine at an additional cost.
The ‘heavy’ Daily vans and cab/chassis (5000kg GVM and 7200kg GVM) feature the 125kW engine as standard and these variants can be upgraded to the 150kW unit at an additional cost too!
In the 5000kg GVM Daily lineup, the vans offer a load capacity from 12 cubic metres to 19.6 cubic metres. The cab/chassis models provide 3450mm, 3750mm, 4350mm, and 4750mm wheelbase options for the body building and camper van markets.
The Daily Vans start from a GST inclusive retail price of $64,055 for the 35S13V nine cubic metre model to $87,400, (GST inclusive) for the 50C17V 19.6 cubic metre version.
Single and dual cab/chassis Daily models are available in 3500kg GVM, 5000kg GVM, and 7000kg GVM configuration from a GST inclusive list price of $56,523 to $78,315.
All Daily Models come with a six-speed manual transmission and the new Hi-Matic 8-speed fully automatic transmission is available for a GST-inclusive price of $4025.
